A Sweet Proposal
by tartan-angel
Summary: Sequel to 'More Lemon Drops'. ADMM. "Just how did Albus propose?" Will Albus and Minerva tell their children the truth? Review Please! Summary sucks but the story doesn't! *I hope* :-


A SWEET PROPOSAL

Minerva sat in an old armchair, surrounded by four young children. There was Alyssia, whose long auburn hair Minerva was currently plaiting, Alanta, Zephyrus and Selene. Alyssia was the oldest of the four at 15 years old, Zephyrus was 12, Selene was 8 years of age and Alanta was only 4. Alyssia was the most academic of the four children; she was very gifted in Transfiguration and rarely took her nose out of a book (she was, at this point, reading Human Transfigurations for Beginners).She had long auburn curls and deep green eyes. Zephyrus was shaping up to be quite the little Quidditch star; he played seeker, like his Grandmother, and had rather a talent for Potions. He had bright blue eyes and short, jet black hair. Selene, despite her young age, was forever practising charms with her grandparents and always had an answer for everything. She had shoulder-length ebony hair and sky blue eyes. Alanta could already talk very fluently and often re-read 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. She had blue eyes and black hair which was usually put up into two little ponytails.

"Grandma?" Asked Alyssia, "Can I ask you something?"

"Well, you already have, dear, but yes, you can ask me something else." Minerva smiled.

"How did Grandpa propose to you?" Oh… Minerva was not expecting that. Now all four of her grandchildren were staring intently at her, obviously waiting to hear a tale of romance and beauty. She couldn't disappoint those little faces. Oh well, she would have to lie. It was probably a good thing that Minerva had always had a rather over-active imagination.

"Well, we were both in Paris, I had been teaching at Hogwarts for about three years and we were celebrating. We were at the top of the Eiffel Tower - you get a much better view of the city at night, you know - and he just… asked me."

"Oh that sounds amazing Grandma," said Selene chirpily, "I never knew Grandpa was a romantic."

"Oh, he's not really… only when he tries _really_ hard!" Alanta laughed as her Grandmother winked at her.

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At the same time, in Diagon Alley, Albus walked into Flourish and Blotts accompanied by a tall, red-haired wizard, who was _very_ powerfully built, and a slim witch with long ebony hair flowing down to the small of her back (the carbon copy of her mother).

"Dad? May I ask you something personal?" piped up the wizard, while browsing shelves containing books on Herbology and Magical Tropical Plants.

"Of course you can son." replied Albus lightly.

"I just- I just wanted to know…"

"Oh, spit it out, Leonidas!" interrupted the witch. Leonidas winced; only his sister and his mother would call him by his full name, he preferred to be known as Leon.

"Well, I wanted to know, how did you propose to Ma?"

"Why on earth should you want to know that, son?" Albus wondered.

"Well, I-I was thinking of popping the question to Mazie." Leon flushed a brilliant shade of crimson and turned to look at his father. Leonidas and Mazie had been childhood sweethearts since their first Hogwarts year and had been in a long-term relationship ever since. Leon had desperately tried to find the right time to propose, but had never discovered it.

Think fast, Albus thought, if the boy is to know anything about romance you can't tell him the truth.

"Well, it was a few years after your mother started teaching at Hogwarts and I took her to Venice to celebrate. We had a lovely weekend and then, on the last night before we returned home, I took her on a ride in one of those Muggle gondolas. And I just… asked her. It was the most nerve-wracking experience of my life; I kept thinking she would refuse and-"

Albus was cut off by a hard elbow in the chest, courtesy of his daughter. "What father means is that you should keep it romantic, all girls love that deep down. Although, in some cases, it's _very, very _deep down."

"That is exactly what I mean, thank you Aurelia."

"Thanks Dad. I was actually intending on buying the ring today. Will you help me choose it?"

"Son, I think Aurelia would be better at that. Besides, I need to pop into…" Leon looked up at Albus with puppy dog eyes and he couldn't refuse that (_damn_, why did he let Minerva teach that to her son?). "Well, I suppose it can wait, come on then."

As they exited the bookshop, Aurelia whispered to her father: "You dirty rotten liar!"

"I'm sure I have no clue as to what you are talking about!"

"Mother told me you proposed in Paris, one of you has to be lying. So, how did you really propose?" Why did Aurelia have to be so much like her mother; too perceptive for her own good?

"I shall discuss this with you later."

"I won't forget, you know." And she wouldn't.

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Albus, Leonidas and Aurelia removed their purchases from their pockets, returned them to their normal size and set them down in Albus and Minerva's living room.

"Honey, I'm home!" Albus called as three children practically flew over to him and grabbed his legs.

"Grandpa, Grandpa!" called Alanta. Minerva waltzed into the room, followed by Alyssia, and the children all shifted their focus to Aurelia.

"Mummy!" exclaimed Selene dreamily. Aurelia embraced all of her children in turn and then hugged her mother. Everybody took a seat and started chatting. Now was Aurelia's chance to find out the truth.

"So, Mother, how did Father propose to you, again?"

"Like I told you, it was in Paris…"

"Hang on a second, Dad said it was in Venice! How did you really propose?" asked Leon curiously. All eyes were now on Albus and Minerva, who shared a defeated glance.

Minerva was the first to recover from the unexpected question. "Lemon drops…"

"What?"

Minerva sighed. This was going to be a _long _night…

_A/N: This story is dedicated to _Thara June, _who gave me the idea!_


End file.
